Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* In his first 24 hours as a presidential candidate, former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D) raised $6.1 million, which is the best opening fundraising day for any Democratic presidential candidate this cycle, even topping the $5.9 million Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) recently raised.
* Former Vice President Joe Biden hasn’t yet launched his Democratic presidential bid, but he accidentally described himself as a candidate at an event on Saturday, before quickly walking it back.
* Though Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) has been running for president since January, she officially kicked off her national campaign at a New York event over the weekend.
* On a related note, Gillibrand also picked up her first congressional endorsement over the weekend when Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) threw her support behind the senator.
* The filing deadline in North Carolina’s 9th congressional district was last week, and it appears there are 10 Republicans seeking the GOP nomination in the do-over election. * In an NPR interview on Friday, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) endorsed a federal moratorium on the death penalty, despite having defended the policy during her tenure as California’s attorney general. * Bernie Sanders’ campaign staff has unionized, which I believe is a first for any major-party presidential campaign, and which is likely to put some pressure on his Democratic rivals to follow suit. * And former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D) has apparently crossed the 65,000-donor threshold, which means he has qualified to participate in the Democratic presidential primary debates.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past." Recommended
